We transport these troubled children alone; go into violent homes alone; talk to violent husbands, wives, boyfriends and girlfriends alone; we talk to mentally ill teens and adults alone. We do this in all neighborhoods, including the ones police won't go into alone. The police have authority to arrest, self-defense training, more cops as backup, bulletproof vests, Tasers and guns. We don't.

We are lucky that we're not attacked nearly as much as police are, but we share the same risks. Lisa Knoefel is the third worker we've lost in the last few years. One died of a heart attack after a teen in custody attacked her. Another was killed by a child she fostered after moving out of state.

We're expected to fix every mistake bad parents make, to undo every trauma violent parents create and to predict the behavior of every child we place. Just like the police, our job is mostly a thankless job. And for all this, Lisa lost her life.

Mike Bokmiller Cleveland

Bokmiller is a social worker for the Cuyahoga County Department of Children and Family Services.

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